Smith, Yamaguchi rule first Saipan Marathon

Veteran roadrunner Stuart Smith was simply amazing yesterday morning as he put on a show and conquered the 26.2-mile inaugural Saipan Marathon.

Smith, who recently relocated to Saipan, couldn’t have chosen a more opportune time to return as he had just enough days to prepare for the historic race and stamp his name into the record books.

Smith’s road to glory began at the American Memorial Park as he got off to a strong start and was on pace to break the three-hour mark after reaching the turnaround just past the Kan Pacific Swimming Pool in Marpi in less than 45 minutes.

Smith then headed back to the entrance of the AMP, made a left turn, and worked toward the Pacific Islands Club. Although slowing down a bit, the veteran still held a commanding lead over the rest of the cast and remained ahead until crossing the finish line in a sterling 3:09:28.

“With the time, it was not very fast for me, but I haven’t been doing much run training so I’m pretty happy,” Smith said shortly after receiving his overall champion trophy at the awards banquet. “It’s always special to do a first marathon anywhere. It’s very nice to be involved in the beginning of a race.”

Smith said he felt strong until the end, but indicated that he started feeling a bit fatigued halfway through the race.

“My muscles started to tire and tighten up, but that’s typical for a marathon,” he said. “They say when you hit 20 miles, you hit a wall. My pace slowed down, but I’m happy to win.”

Meanwhile, 51-year-old Monica Yamaguchi explained her effort and a first place finish in the women’s competition with two words.

“It’s unbelievable,” she said thrice after crossing the finish line.

Yamaguchi, who competed in her first marathon, was the 15th finisher overall as she took her body to the limit and crossed the finish line in 4:10:19.

“I’m just very happy,” she said. I didn’t feel tired when I was running because I really paced myself well, but after the race, I cramped up, so it was a good experience.”

She said that finishing the race was a big relief for her and credits friends for assisting in her successful charge.

“I have a lot of very good friends who run with me and help me,” she said. “I just keep in good condition and keep running.”

Earning the second place trophy on the men’s corner was You Hwan Park of Korea, who conquered the course in 3:37:58, while Saipan’s Akiko Hagiwara, who had recently competed in a marathon in Hawaii, put on a strong performance to take second place in the women’s corner with a time of 4:20:14.

Saipan’s Chang Whan Jang took third place in the men’s field as he pushed himself to a 3:31:02 finish, while Hiromi Korimoto took third for the women’s in 4:22:53.

Other Saipan notables that showed the warrior in them by tackling the challenge include Yoshi Gabaldon (3:44:32), Christopher Fryling (3:45:45), Nate Hawley (4:04:55), Butch Sublemente (4:13:36), Jack Kabiriel (4:40:58), Faheem Ebrahim (4:43:20), Fred Camacho (4:44:39), Mieko Motoyoshi (5:05:10), Florian Braig (5:05:54), Kimiko Hasegawa (5:12:25), Lewis Tenorio (5:23:39), and Saipan Tribune’s Brad Ruszala (5:31:59).

All participants of the inaugural race were presented with medals during the banquet at the Hyatt Regency Saipan.

The marathon began at 3:30am, with participants checking in as early as 3am. The event also featured the 25th Half Marathon and 20th 10-kilometer run.